'Estimated miles till empty' feature is incorrect

My old chevy could drive WAY under the E, then fill for 25-26 gallons of the 27 gallon tank. Had the fuel pump replaced... from then on if it hit E, the truck would sputter and die. Coasted into a gas station twice. 23 gallons was the most i could put in. THey musta F'd up the fuel pickup location somehow. I definitely let the guy we sold it to know. lol.

 

Sorry, gotta call B.S. on that statement.

 

Refilling at 1/2 tank?

Tell me you're retired without telling me you're retired..

 

Half of his statement is stupid, agreed on the BS part.

The reason to not run low is that the fuel pump relies on the the fuel in the tank for cooling purposes. I don't know how much that matters anymore, but it makes sense, regardless.

 

When I drove through the mountains of Maryland/WestVirginia between Ohio and DC ... remote places between exits, with places it could be snowing one place (above 2000 ft) and "just wet" a few miles later (1500 and lower). I would stop in Morgantown to refuel.

That was 20 years ago, so seemed wise at the time. Maybe not now, but would not want to get caught in a snowbank on some of those mountain places.

 

?? Explains to me like I'm a * transplanted Pennsyltuckian who ended up in FartRack Vermont.

ETA a for me at the * point above


If you get going on a long haul highway out in the middle of nowhere, then get iced / snowed in, wouldn't you want to be able to run the car for heat? I think that's where that statement was going?? Refilling just cuz you can when only commuting 10 miles is a different issue.

 

lmao
Me three. I've been up over and through those hills. Might be even more isolated in my location now and definately worse winters. No matter the vehilce, if my tank hits 1/4 tank, my leg starts a shakin. No I'm not retired, and yes I keep a robust supply of TP in the house too.

 

Been meaning to tell you love the avatar! Eddie in the good old days. Been a fan since the beginning. Up the Irons!

 

The average human being is way too simple to be trusted with a true range estimate. 98% of Americans would destroy their engine within a month of owning their car.

 

Can you imagine the lawsuits against Toyota if the infotainment calculation said you have 2 miles left, but you ran out of fuel.anyways?

 

My grandpa always did. Half a tank, well lets fill her up!

 

Not once I used this “feature”. It’s absolutely useless IMHO.

 

I refill at a quarter, always. That means I’m half way to retirement?

 

i call her my wife... and then she will tell me to take of of my kids to the store or something, and wouldn't you know her car needs fuel...

 

Several schools of thought on this and I have yet to see any actual data driven research to support either sides. What is the operating temperature range of the pump and does having it being not completely submerged and only cooled by the fuel that's running through it adequate? I've replaced a few pumps that weren't all the way at the bottom of the tank, some not due to failure but just because I required more flow.

My small sample of vehicles will suggest I have yet to have a fuel pump failure due to running close to empty since I almost always wait until the low fuel light comes on in my 30 years of driving. But I also replace vehicles before they reach 200k miles.

I personally hate spending my time getting gas, haircuts and groceries so I go when I need to.

 

Many people are idiots, hence, a gauge, a miles til empty screen, an idiot light and finally, extra gas for the idiots who don't take the three warnings seriously.

 

Yes.

 

I posted this in another thread.. most vehicles nowadays mount the fuel pump down in a small "bucket" that sits on the floor of the tank. The bucket has a filter sock on the bottom. Not only does the pump suck fuel up into itself but it self-feeds fuel into the bucket constantly (usually the fuel return line points straight back into the bucket) so the pump is always submerged. So even when the tank is almost bone dry the fuel pump is sitting in 6+ inches of fuel. The fuel level arm hangs off the side of the bucket as well. The whole assembly is known as a fuel pump module.

This has been common since about the late 90s

 

Mine always runs out gas when it shows between 6 and 11 miles left to empty.